Senegal vote date still in limbo after deadly unrest
Senegalese President Macky Sall on Monday officially received a recommendation to hold deferred presidential elections on June 2, after deadly protests sparked by a last-minute cancellation of the vote.
The report followed a “national dialogue” that was boycotted by the opposition, which has demanded that the election be held before April 2, when Sall is supposed to step down.
The West African country was thrown into a political crisis on February 3 when Sall postponed the presidential election set for February 25.
His announcement, denounced as a “constitutional coup d’etat” by the opposition, sparked protests that resulted in four deaths.
On February 15, Senegal’s constitutional council overruled Sall, and ever since the country has been waiting for a new date.
Sall indicated that he would ask the constitutional council for its opinion on the June 2 vote request.
Senegal’s constitution makes no provision for a possible scenario in which Sall leaves office on April 2, with an election taking place only two months later.
